Shocking footage has emerged of a woman in her 50s being arrested on an easyJet flight from Belfast to Manchester after allegedly hurling racial slurs at fellow passengers.
The incident, which took place on a flight from Belfast last Friday, January 17, quickly escalated, with one witness claiming the woman was making 'racist' remarks, reports The Manchester Evening News.
Shauna Corr, 44, who was on the flight, said: "The lady involved was a few rows in front of me - I felt very sorry for the couple sat behind her and children on the flight. Her language was atrocious and racist, she was making very derogatory comments about people, including Muslims - at one stage she even struck out at Ukrainian people."
Footage shows other passengers confronting the woman, demanding she quiet down, while a steward also steps in, warning her that the police would be called if her behaviour continued. Despite this, the woman continues swearing and shouting until she is eventually escorted off the aircraft upon landing.
Ms Corr praised the stewards for handling the situation well, describing the woman's behaviour as "disgusting". "She was just kicking off but I think the stewards handled it really well - it was quite disgusting behaviour."
She added that the unruly behaviour began midway through the flight, even alleging that the woman stole some Tayto crisps from a flight attendant without paying. "When I first heard it, I thought it was a kid. But it escalated towards the end of the flight. I think the fact it was a middle-aged woman shocked people it's not the type of behaviour you expect from anyone, let alone a middle-aged woman."
A spokesperson for easyJet said in a statement: "Flight EZY714 from Belfast City to Manchester on 17 January was met by police on arrival due to a passenger behaving disruptively onboard.
"easyJet's cabin crew are trained to assess and evaluate all situations and acted quickly and appropriately to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers was not compromised at any time.
"Whilst such incidents are rare we take them very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard. The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet's priority."
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police added: "At around 8.50pm (on Friday 17 January 2025), we were called to reports of a woman being drunk and disorderly onboard an aircraft flying from Belfast in Northern Ireland to Manchester Airport.
"Upon the plane returning to Manchester Airport, a woman in her 50s was arrested on suspicion of being drunk onboard an aircraft and was taken into custody, where she remains for questioning."
English (United States) ·